Pomp and Circumstantial Evidence
by Kaitou Ann
Summary: Magic Kaito. Hakuba's gone back to England to finish school. Kaito's on a study abroad. The Black Organization is out for blood. *Chapter Two* Foul Play is afoot at an art museum.
1. Default Chapter

(Italics are Japanese)  
  
**Pomp and Circumstantial Evidence  
Part One: For Educational Purposes**  


* * *

_"Perhaps," I hinted darkly, "there may be an outcome of the expedition."  
"What do you mean?" she asked.  
"Well," said I carelessly, "there seems a gap that might be filled by an exhaustive work on--"  
"Oh! will you write a book?" she cried, clapping her hands. "That would be splendid, wouldn't it, Robert?"_

_Anthony Hope "The Prisoner of Zenda"_

  
Their guide, Professor Martin, was a friendly looking foreigner with impeccable Japanese and a really silly coat. Well, Kaito supposed, the man wasn't really a foreigner, Kaito was actually the foreigner. They were in England after all.  
  


"_You'll be studying English conversation and composition as well as learning about British culture. We encourage you to interact with other students as much as possible. Don't just spend time with other Japanese_," he chided. The rented bus they were riding topped a hill and the school came into view. Prof. Martin smiled and switched into English, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Eton College."  
  


It was a scene right out of a painting or a recruitment brochure. Rolling green fields and stately trees, clusters of imposing gothic buildings and cobblestone walkways. A few people milled about dressed in formal uniforms like their guide, all stark black and white.   
  


Kaito looked out into that sea of propriety and wondered just how he got himself into all of this.  
  


* * *  
  


"A study abroad?"  
  


Jii studied the green felt of the billiard table before answering. It was late on a Friday night, maybe early Saturday morning by now. The place was closed and it was just the two of them. Jii was determined that Kaito learn how to play a real game of billiards if it killed both of them.  
  


"Yes, Young Master Kaito. It would be good for your education, improve your language skills, broaden your horizons…"  
  


Kaito snorted, "Not to mention giving Kaitou Kid the chance to be an **international** jewel thief again."  
  


"I admit the thought occurred to me." Jii's hands that he wrung so worriedly during a heist were calm and steady as he lined up his shot. "Eight ball, corner pocket." And of course, it was.  
  


"Well, I don't see any reason not too. It'd be cool to get out of Japan, see something new. Besides, I was reading about a jade exhibit at the British Museum…five ball, side pocket." And of course, it wasn't.  
  


"England?" Jii frowned, "Your English is fairly good already. I was thinking Austria or Italy. Your father spoke half a dozen languages fluently, you know."  
  


Kaito sighed, "I'm workin' on it. I'm workin' on it. Jeeze, just because a guy can turn into Kaitou Kid over night doesn't mean he can do it ALL that fast. One step at a time. Besides, France is close enough to go on a weekend if I need to hit two countries, I think."  
  


"I suppose you have a point. Six ball in…what?" Jii looked down at the table to see that all the balls had been switched into different positions without him noticing.  
  


"The hand is quicker than the eye," Kaito said with a wink. He pulled a cue ball out of midair and rolled it across his fingertips.  
  


Jii was about to lecture him on fair play, but saw an excellent shot all lined up for him and decided to let it slide.  
  


A few applications and a few months later, and here he was.  
  


* * *  
  


As a detective, Hakuba Saguru was deeply disappointed in The Confessions of Saint Augustine. It was far too wrapped up with concepts of God as an immaterial being and different sorts of love. Not that the man himself was to be blamed. It was just that Hakuba considered some things in life more interesting than others, and the study of theology wasn't.   
  


He enjoyed his time in Japan where Theology and Latin weren't a part of the required curriculum. Well, the Latin was mildly interesting if ultimately useless. But Hakuba couldn't abide Theology. He didn't see the point of trying to define something that was, by definition, beyond the grasp of human understanding.  
  


But it was standard, and if Hakuba wanted to pass his lower sixth year he had to show he was competent in it. In all honesty he was grateful that Eton was willing to let him make up the subjects he missed while studying in Japan. And he was even more grateful that his Tutor suggested a paper on sin as an absolute, using stealing as an example.   
  


Not that Hakuba thought in terms of 'sin' so much. His absolutes had nothing to do with God.   
  


He was trying to find a quote to buttress his point, his pen clenched in his teeth when there was a knock on the door.  
  


"Mmf?" He put the pen down. "Yes?"  
  


Oliver popped his head in, "Saguru? Me and Adam and James are going down to the dining hall for lunch. Want to come?"  
  


Hakuba made a face at his research. "Anything sounds better than doing this." He stood up and stretched.   
  


"Yes, well you didn't HAVE to go to Japan you know. Then you wouldn't have make up work. You could be lying about doing nothing but club activities like the rest of us staying the summer." Oliver said with an insolent grin  
  


"I'm not going to dignify that with a remark."  
  


Oliver nodded sagely and guided Hakuba out of the room. "Of course you're not. You never do."  
  


They met up with the other boys and started the walk across the courtyard towards the dining hall. It really was a beautiful day. Not as hot as it could have been, with a mild breeze and clear skies. It felt good just to be outdoors.   
  


"The soccer camp should be starting up soon. I think the last of the students from the special summer programs got here yesterday."  
  


"Even the Japanese exchange students?"   
  


"I think so."  
  


"Hm. I didn't even notice." Hakuba usually make a point to at least introduce himself to the summer exchange students. Before he went to Japan he saw it as an opportunity to brush up on his Japanese while helping their English. Besides, he felt like he really had no connection to Japan, even though he'd been born there. It was at least one way to connect with his heritage. Now that he'd been to Japan and lived there for a semester, he knew what it was like to be a foreigner. And he knew how important having even a small connection with someone could be, and how hard it was to make one. He'd promised himself to try and do more with the exchange students this year.   
  


"Ha, I knew it. See? That boy there, I think he's Japanese." James said, pointing.  
  


And he was Japanese. In fact, the other boy looked awfully familiar. In fact he looked a lot like…  
  


"KUROBA!?"  
  


The boy spun, and it WAS Kuroba Kaito. He gaped, "_Hakuba!? What the hell are you doing here?_"  
  


"_Me!?_" Hakuba spluttered, "_This is MY school. What are YOU doing here?_"  
  


Kaito recovered from his surprise and grinned broadly, "_Study abroad. Expanding my horizons. Learning about the great wide world. Dude, you look like a penguin._"  
  


Hakuba felt his ears turn pink. He was trying to think of a proper comeback when Oliver tugged on his sleeve. "Saguru, do you know him?"  
  


"Err. Yes. He was at the school I studied at in Japan." He said mechanically. Even on auto pilot Hakuba's brain had impeccable manners. "Everyone, this is Kaito Kuroba. Kuroba, these are a few of my housemates, Oliver, James and Adam."  
  


"Nice to meet you," Kaito said.  
  


"Our pleasure."  
  


"You'll have to come over to our house sometime for a chat," said Oliver, "tell us all about Japan and all. Saguru hardly ever tells us anything."  
  


Kaito looked completely lost and Hakuba fought the urge to sigh. He knew from experience the English ability of most High School students. "_Oliver would like you to come visit our house sometime and tell him about Japan._"  
  


"Ohhhh. Yes please. I want to make new friends and study English and English culture." Kaito said in a stilted voice. It was really much better than most Japanese could manage, but still made Hakuba wince. He knew Kaito, and it was strange to hear him speaking with an adult's vocabulary and a three year old's grammar.  
  


"Try to speak slowly and use simple words," Hakuba told the other boys. "They don't do a very good job of teaching English in Japan for the most part. And even when they DO do a good job, it's American English anyway. They think it's 'proper' English."  
  


"Silly of them." Adam turned to Kaito and said very slowly and clearly, "Nice to meet you, Kaito. We're going to go eat lunch. Will you come with us?"  
  


"Yes. Ok."  
  


* * *  
  


Kaito was at least as floored as Hakuba looked. He was just better at hiding it. Being a professional thief you learned fast how to keep your cool in strange situations. But honestly, **honestly**, what were the odds?  
  


Things just got a hell of a lot more complicated.  
  


For one thing, it would be a lot harder to plan a theft. He knew Hakuba already suspected him, and if he DID pull a heist it was just going to be ten times worse. He'd have to manage to be in two places at once somehow, or some kind of camouflage. It wouldn't be too hard normally, that kind of misdirection is child's play to a magician. The hand is quicker than the eye. The problem was that Hakuba's eyes were quicker than most.  
  


And second, English, and remembering just how good he was supposed to be at it, was harder than he thought. Back when he was really little his Dad insisted on English lessons. And he'd kept up studying on his own. His English was really a LOT better than he was letting on. Kaito figured that a Kaitou Kid that spoke good English wouldn't be connected with one Kaito Kuroba that spoke like…well, a Japanese high school student. But it was harder to remember what he was and wasn't supposed to know than he thought.   
  


And to Kaito's great embarrassment…even after all that, he wasn't as good as he thought he was. Hakuba and his friends talked so fast. And they slurred their words together, or used strange slang. He didn't like it. What if he did try and steal a gem and he couldn't understand what the police were doing around him? This would make getting out a lot harder than he thought.  
  


"So what's your hobby, Kaito?"   
  


"Hm?" Kaito looked up from his plate that held some kind of strange glop. Beans and toast. He shuddered and remembered his mother telling him to not be rude and eat whatever was in front of him. And foreigners thought raw fish was strange. Of course, Kaito thought that raw fish was strange too, but that was neither here nor there.   
  


"What do you like to do? Sports? Music?" Oliver asked, starting in on his toast without a second thought. "I'm the assistant editor of the literary magazine, James does debate club, and Adam is on the rowing team."  
  


"As an alternate," Adam put in dryly, adjusting his glasses.  
  


James grinned, "Quiet you, you're the most socially acceptable of the lot of us, so no sounding bitter about it." Adam socked him in the shoulder.  
  


"Oh. No clubs. But I play Magic."  
  


"The card game?"  
  


Huh? Did they mean card tricks? "Uhh… Magic. Tricks."  
  


The other boys looked very impressed and Kaito preened a little. He was good enough to stand up to anybody when it came to magic and he knew it. "Really? You know magic? Can you show us a trick or two?"  
  


He looked left and right as if making sure no one was watching. "I don't know……" Magic was all about showmanship after all.  
  


Hakuba unwittingly cooperated by saying to his friends, "He's really very good. He did tricks without any kind of preparation in class all the time."   
  


"Please?" Asked Oliver.  
  


It was all Kaito was waiting for. He pulled a pack of cards from his back pocket. If it was supposed to be card tricks, he might as well do card tricks. He shuffled them lightly for a moment and then handed them over to Hakuba. "Hakuba is detective. He won't cheat."  
  


The other boys laughed and Hakuba's lips thinned in what might have been a smile, and might have been anything else. He looked over the deck very carefully, checking for marks or flipped cards or any other obvious cheat.   
  


"_Give it up, Hakuba, it's just a magic trick._"  
  


"_I'll catch you at something one of these days._" The blond retorted  
  


"_But not today!_" Kaito grinned toothily and took the deck back. He fanned out the cards towards the boys. "Pick a card! Any card!"  
  


"Who?"  
  


Kaito gestured for all four of them to choose a card.   
  


"All of us?"  
  


"Yes." Eyebrows went up around the table. They'd never heard of more than one person choosing a card at once. Not every magician could pull it off. It was one of his dad's specialties.  


Cards were chosen, studied and placed back in the deck.   
  


He handed the deck over to Hakuba again. "Is it okay?"  
  


Hakuba looked at the deck. "Am I supposed to shuffle?"  
  


"It doesn't matter," Kaito said with a shrug.  
  


The detective got a challenging look in his eyes and shuffled the deck very, very thoroughly. Kaito would think he was out to ruin the trick if he hadn't seen this kind of reaction a hundred times before. People liked to be fooled by magic. But they didn't want any doubt that it was some kind of simple trick. If they were going to be wowed, they didn't want to be wowed by something simple.   
  


Magic was a two-way challenge. The challenge to astound and be astounded. And Kaito knew that it worked best when audience and magician were doing their best to one up the other. It was a lot like being a phantom thief.  
  


Hakuba was finally satisfied and handed the deck back. Kaito handed it to Oliver. "Half, please." Then he handed the two halves to James and Adam. "Half please."  
  


He set the four piles down on the table in a row. Then he took a butter knife and tapped each stack. "One, Two, Three!" Kaito flipped over the top card on each of the four piles. "Are these your cards, gentlemen?" The three of clubs. The Jack of diamonds. The seven of clubs and the Ace of Hearts.  
  


There was a long silence. Finally Adam said, "Um. No. My card's not here."  
  


"Mine neither."  
  


"Mine neither."  
  


"My card isn't either." Hakuba said. He looked disappointed.  
  


"_Eh?_ Very strange." Kaito pretended to think very hard. "I think maybe because I'm in England the trick is bad."  
  


The blond detective snorted, "What difference could that possibly make?"  
  


Kaito rolled right over on top of him. "I think maybe the cards are shy. Can you pick up your plates?"  
  


With a curious look the four boys picked up their dishes and looked underneath. And there, were four playing cards. The ten of hearts. The Ace of spades. The two of diamonds. And the six of diamonds.  
  


"That's my card!!" said James incredulously. And it was. Each boy had their own chosen card sitting right under their plate. Kaito sat back and grin and bit into his toast, which wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.  
  


* * *  
  


It wasn't until much later that Hakuba could finally get Kaito alone. The Japanese boy was pressed into doing more and more tricks, a small crowd gathering around him. He was in his element, showing off and performing greater and more impossible feats of magic with the simplest of materials.  
  


But Hakuba couldn't enjoy any of it. His teeth were on edge. Why in God's name was Kaito in England? If it were for a study abroad he'd eat his Sherlock Holmes commemorative hat…with ketchup.   
  


But finally he and Kaito were alone walking back to the house the Japanese students were staying at. "_Just what are you after?_"  
  


"_After? I don't know what you're talking about._"  
  


Hakuba ground his teeth. "_Well, there's an Egyptian exhibit here at school…and the chapel…And a dozen museums in London to pick from._"  
  


Kaito smirked. "_I think you're mixing me up with someone else. I know Kaito sounds like Kaitou, but the kanji are different._"  
  


The detective poked Kaito hard in the chest. "_If there is any kind of funny business whatsoever, you know exactly where I'm looking first. I'm going to keep my eye on you for the rest of this summer whether you like it or not._"  
  


"Yes, Mr. Detective, sir!" Kaito saluted.  
  


Hakuba narrowed his eyes. He knew, KNEW Kaito was Kaitou Kid. He could feel it deeper than his bones. He could feel it on a cellular level. And now fate gave him this chance to catch him in the act, when there was no other explanation for him being there. And by God he was going to do it!  
  
  


To Be Continued:  
  
  
  


Hideously Long Author's Notes:

1. I know, it's a slow start, but I promise lots of Action! and Adventure! to follow. But I need a little bit of space to lay out the situation first. And I will warn you that this story has the possibility of being Shonen Ai. I'm not sure yet whether it will be, or whether it'll just be friendship. But it's going to be extremely light if it does pop up.

2. Eton. Yes, I know Aoyama said Hakuba went to "London Bridge High School." I'm ignoring that for two reasons. One, because I think going to a snooty private school suits Hakuba better. And Two, when I told my friend that he was supposed to go to London Bridge High, she said it sounded kind of scuzzy. I chose Eton because it's famous, and has an extremely good reputation. I want to show that Hakuba is smart. Also I want to dress him up in the silly school uniforms. Plus, Eton actually does have a study abroad program for Japanese high school and Jr. College students. Eton is an all boys school, but many of the summer programs are not.

3. Hakuba's intelligence. In the Magic Kaito manga Hakuba is a bit of a doofus. But in Magic Kaito everyone is a bit of a doofus, including Kaito himself. When Hakuba shows up in Vol. 30 of the Det. Conan manga he's still a weirdo, but he seems perfectly capable, right on the same level with the other detectives. And in the Clock Tower case Akako refers to Shinichi being as smart as Hakuba, not smarter. So for the purposes of this fic, I'm using Vol. 30 Hakuba and projecting him back on the rest of the series.

4. Glaring logic errors. These have mostly to do with the school and why people are where they are. So don't worry your pretty little head on why the other boys are there in the summer or anything else I make a big mistake on. They're all my fault, because I'm not a good enough writer to care. The plot and the major points will all be as well researched as I can make them. But there are bound to still be mistakes as I'm an American. The mistakes are all mine. 

5. Thank you so much for reading! Please c&c. Critiques, Compliments and Flames are all welcome. The flames though, I warn you, will be sniggered at. All the same, I'm really eager to hear what you think about the story, so please let me know.  



	2. Part Two: Field Trip

(Italics are Japanese)  
  
**Pomp and Circumstantial Evidence  
Part Two: Field Trip**  


* * *

Kaito glared at his homework. The cause of all his problems. And in a way it was. This school was serious when it came to studying. He'd been so busy with his homework and classes and class sponsored events that he didn't have TIME to really explore properly. And here is was on a Saturday when he didn't actually have any classes, or obligatory outings…But he was still in his room finishing his homework.  
  


///**Every** or **many a** before a word or series of words is followed by a singular verb….///  
  


Blegh.   
  


There was a knock on the door. "Yes?"  
  


It was Adam, one of what Kaito had dubbed in his brain, the Geek Squad. From his time spent with the other boys Kaito noticed something of a food chain of the people spending their summer at school. They weren't disliked especially; it was obvious that each of the four had a special know-how. From Adam and his computers to Hakuba and his detective abilities. But they weren't exactly the guys you picked out for a party. Which was too bad. They were all nice enough, and he'd have been lost without their and Hakuba's help over the past two weeks.  
  


"We're going on a trip into the city. Would you like to come?" Adam asked. Kaito especially liked how Adam was good at remembering to speak slowly. Except for Detective Boy, he was by far the easiest to understand.  
  


"I would like to…" Kaito said with a frown, "But I have a test on Monday. I don't understand this."  


Adam looked over his shoulder at the textbook and made a face. "I don't know Kaito. I don't understand either. Let's ask Oliver. He understands English the best." He walked back to the door. "Oi! Oliver! English question over here!"  
  


The stockier boy poked his head in. "How can I help?" Kaito gestured wordlessly at the textbook. He frowned for a moment. "It means…when you say something like 'every dog' you have to treat it like it's just one thing, and not lots of them. Think of it like it's One group. So it's 'This dog likes bones.' 'Those dogs like bones.' And 'Every dog likes bones.' Does that help."  
  


Kaito looked from Oliver to the textbook and back again. "No. Sorry."  
  


Oliver ran a hand through his hair. "I'd be glad to help you more with it later, but if we don't leave soon, we'll miss the train into London. We'll be late. Do you want to come?"  
  


Again Kaito looked from Oliver to the textbook. "Yes. This is very boring."  
  


Adam laughed, "That's the spirit. We're going to the Wolfe Art Museum. It's little, but my Aunt works there so we can see behind the scenes."  
  


So a short train ride later and they were in the thick of downtown London, looking up at a medium sized brick building. A banner at the door proclaimed. "Coming soon to the Wolfe Art Museum, Treasures from the time of Nero."  
  


"It's closed," said Hakuba.  
  


"It's all right. My Aunt Diane works here as a Restorer. We can get the grand tour," said Adam. He took them around to the back entrance and rang the bell.  
  


A security guard answered. "I'm Adam Bell. We're here to see my aunt, Diane Lowry."  
  


"Just a second. Let me see that she's expecting you," said the guard, a pleasant looking man in his late '40's. He closed the door on them and walked over to a phone. Kaito's mind naturally started to check out the security system, noting how the door was wired, and watching the guard's mannerisms in case he ever had to repeat them.  
  


He finally came back. "Looks like you boys are in for a treat. Not everyone who can see the museum on an off day."  
  


James grinned and rubbed his hands together. Kaito found out quickly what a history nut the other boy was. They all thanked the guard politely and walked inside.  
  


A woman appeared walking up from a set of basement stairs. Her hair was starting to pepper with gray and she looked a little worn and tired, but she broke into a wide smile when she saw Adam.  
  


"It's such a surprise to see you here. Your friends finally tear you away from your computer screen?" she said affectionately touching his hands.  
  


"I'm not that bad, am I?"  
  


Hakuba smiled. "Yes Adam, you are."  
  


"Well someday my job will pay more than all of yours combined," he shot back, "Anyway, we're showing an exchange student around London, Aunt Diane, and thought this might be a good learning experience. Especially since we could tour more slowly than with a guide. I'd like you to meet Kaito Kuroba."  
  


"Lovely to meet you."  
  


"Nice to meet you too."  
  


"And besides," Adam continued, "James has been begging for a backstage tour for forever."  
  


"Then he's in luck. We're getting ready for a new Greek and Roman exhibit at the moment. Would you like to come downstairs and see how we do restorations?"  
  


* * *  
  


The downstairs room was filled with a kind of priceless clutter. It was like a curio shop run by a thirteen year old boy. Buckets, chemicals, tools and paints scattered across a handful of tables. Bits of ivory, mother of pearl, sheets of gold leaf were piled in a corner. Trays of shattered pottery laid out in mathematic precision.  
  


"Welcome to the restoration department, I'd like you to meet Suzanne O'Brian and Gideon Haig." Mrs. Lowry said. "Suzanne, Gideon, this is my nephew Adam and his friends." Introductions were quickly passed around.  
  


"It's very nice to meet you!" said Suzanne, "Pardon if I don't shake your hands, I'm a bit clay-y at the moment." A young woman with a great lot of wavy blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was standing behind a very large pot filling in gaps with a pale gray clay.  
  


Gideon Haig was in his mid to late thirties with a sharp face and dark complexion. "Nice to meet you boys." The table behind him had bottles and jars of different chemicals and the beads of a necklace gold with green gemstones…Hakuba shot a sharp glance at Kaito, but his attention was on the giant pot.   
  


"What is this?" He asked, "The shape is strange." It was tall with two handles, with a small mouth. But the strange thing was the way it tapered down to a point instead of a flat base. It's surface was peppered with gray-white barnacles.  
  


"This is called an Amphora. It's from Greece. It probably used to hold wine or oil. They found it at the bottom of the ocean, see all the shells? It's really rare to find one of these intact. Right now I'm filling in the missing spaces and later I'll use some of the shells from the inside so you'll never even know it was broken!" She smiled.  
  


"Aunt Diane, you're still working on that box?" Adam asked from the other side of the room.  
  


She sighed, "Afraid so. It's proving to be a lot harder to finish than I thought at first."  
  


"What is it?" Oliver asked.  
  


She held up the black lacquer box with a butterfly motif all done in mother of pearl inlay. "This is supposed to be part of our Chinese collection. I'm behind my deadline. You can see all the places where the shell is missing? All the shell I have to work with is too thick to fit into the space. I even ordered a sheet of shell veneer online, but it's still too thick."  
  


Hakuba asked, "Well, how did they get the shell in there in the first place?"  
  


"Oh that was much easier," Mrs. Lowry said with a smile, "When they made the box they sanded the shell down to the right layer and applied the lacquer afterwards."  
  


Oliver scratched his head, "Couldn't you do something like that? Just build the lacquer up to match the mother of pearl?"  
  


"Oh no! I wouldn't want to hurt the original finish. I'm restoring it, not making something of my own."  
  


James looked a little uncomfortable. "Sorry if I'm being rude, but…I mean, wouldn't it be better just to leave it in the original state anyway?"  
  


Gideon scooted his chair over towards the group. "Aha! The ethics of restoration, you mean." He grinned.  
  


"Well, yes I suppose…I mean, isn't it better the way it is? Isn't fixing it up kind of cheating?"  
  


Suzanne gestured towards the amphora, "Would it be better if I left that as fragments? You'd have to have a very good imagination to see how it all went together."  
  


Gideon leaned back in the chair making it squeak. "It's all in where you draw the line, I think."  
  


"Right," Suzanne nodded, "Some museums would have me stop here. The amphora's been put together as best as I can, and the white plaster added for stability. But they'd leave it white so you can see exactly where the restoration occurred. Show all the cracks and such."  
  


"But that's only one school of thought," Diane put in.  
  


The man nodded, "The way we do it here is to recreate the original to the best of our ability. We want it to look like it did the day it was made so you can see what it was really like. For instance if you go out into the country there are dozens of drafty gloomy castles, and people think that's what it was like. But really they used lots of tapestries and even painted the walls. They were probably really quite charming. But the image people come away with is cold and dank. We want to make sure that no one gets the same idea about these pieces."  
  


Diane picked up her box again, "But all the restorations we do are completely reversible. You can take away all the modern work and you won't have caused any damage to the piece itself. Whatever we do, the piece itself isn't damaged in any way. It's why I have to be careful not to damage the lacquer finish while I replace the mother of pearl."  
  


"Or take the amphora for instance." Suzanne held up a small shard of pottery the same gray-white as the gaps in the pot. "The clay I'm working with is water soluble. All you have to do is soak it for a little while and you'll be right back where I started." She dipped the piece into a blue plastic bucked by her feet and swished it around for a moment before pulling back her hand. "See? All gone."  
  


Hakuba looked over at Kaito whose eyes were starting to glaze over. _"Are you getting any of this?"_  
  


_"Sort of. I'm not really sure. The clay dissolves in water? So…you can undo everything?"  
_  


_"Basically. They're talking about how much restoration is ethical. Whether it's better to make it look like it looked originally, or just keep the piece from further deterioration."  
  
_

_"Ahh, gotcha."  
  
_

"Here look," Suzanne wiped her hands off on a rag and walked over to her table, pulling out a manila file full of photos. "This is a ceramic bull from the Amlash culture…it's about 4000 years old. Obviously it didn't survive very well." The head of the figurine is half caved in, a missing leg, not to mention great cracks and missing pieces. "It's not very impressive this way, and most people wouldn't bother to care about it."  
  


She held up another picture, "And here it is when I finished with it."  
  


"Is this really what it would have looked like?" Oliver asked.  
  


"According to other figures, and more Amlash art, I believe so."  
  


The finished picture had handlebar like horns and little beady eyes and ears high up on the forehead. The nose was a lot like a trough and the body hollow so that it gave the effect of a kind of ceremonial pitcher, though Hakuba really had no clue what it would have been used for. He was a bout to ask about it when he noticed that Kaito's attention had wandered over to Gideon's table where the restorer was using a kind of fixative on gold leaf to repair the gold beads from a necklace.  
  


"Ah!" Kaito snatched a jar of acid off the table just before Gideon knocked it over with his elbow.  
  


"Oh thank you! I can't believe…so clumsy of me."  
  


"Please be careful. This is not good, that necklace."  
  


Gideon nodded, "Yes, the acid would have damaged the peridot and I would have been fired. How did you know that peridot is especially sensitive to acid? You must know a lot about jewelry."  
  


Hakuba gave him a sharp look…an especially sharp look and Kaito started to sweat. "Oh, uh, no, I just…it's bad if it's dropped I think."  
  


The restorer looked satisfied with the explanation, but the detective certainly wasn't. He was about to call him on it when there was a knock on the doorframe. A petite woman with a mass of black hair pulled back into a bun was glaring over the top of her dark rimmed glasses at them. "This does not look like working. Nor does it sound like working. And what are these children doing here?"  
  


"I'm sorry Mrs. Calwell, I was just showing my nephew and his friends the restoration department." Diane said. "Boys, I'd like you to meet Ms. Samantha Calwell, our curator."  
  


"Charmed," she said with a frosty smile and a disapproving look at the teenagers.  
  


"C'mon Samantha, they're not causing any harm," Gideon said, leaning back in his chair.  
  


Her eyes narrowed into slits, "And how is YOUR project proceeding Mr. Haig?"  
  


"Swimmingly, Samantha," he said unrepentantly.  
  


She sniffed and walked over to Suzanne's corner. "That seems to be coming along very nicely. Any estimate on when it will be completed?"  
  


"It'll be done in time," she said in a clipped voice.  
  


The woman smiled a very catlike smile, "Glad to hear it. A piece like this is very valuable to us."  
  


"A real collector's item, you might say?"  
  


The smile widened. "You might at that." Suzanne frowned at her and smacked some more clay onto the pot a bit more violently.  
  


She turned to Diane, "I don't mind you bringing guests into the museum, but only on your own private time. Look at this! You're still working on this box! This should have been finished ages ago. You need to be working on something for the Roman exhibit."  
  


"Yes, I know," the older woman said timidly, "I've told you before that this is turning out to be particularly tricky. The thickness of the shell…"  
  


"I don't care about the thickness of the shell! I just want it done! If you can't do it, say so!" There was an uncomfortable pressure in the room as the rest of the people tried to ignore the scene unfolding in front of them. There was nothing quite as painful as watching people argue.   


Samantha Calwell sighed, "Listen. You can give your nephew a tour during your break. In the meantime I'd like you to come to my office."  
  


Diane was white with a mix of anger and shame. "Yes, all right."  
  


Hakuba stepped back to let her pass, and accidentally knocked the file folder with all the information on the ceramic bull onto the floor. He apologized, but as he was picking it up he noticed a clipping…It looked like a page from a Christie's auction catalogue and had a picture of a bull identical to Suzanne's. The estimate was for four thousand to five thousand pounds. Hakuba raised an eyebrow as he stuffed it back into the envelope. Quite a bit of money.   
  


There was a moment of silence as the two women left, and an awkwardness because no one knew quite what to do with themselves. After a second Gideon put down his tools and stripped off the rubber gloves he was wearing. "Well, I was thinking about taking my break soon anyway. How would you boys like me to start the tour at least? I feel like stretching my legs."  
  
  
  


The main entrance of the museum was under construction, a few scaffolds here and there, card tables set up at random for the construction worker's tools and such. It was all very messy and disorganized, but you could still see the inherent beauty of the layout. The main hall was a wide half circle, with two staircases that arched in a graceful curve to the second story. A high railing of intricate wrought iron trimmed the edge of the second floor like some kind of black ivy or lace.  
  


The first room Gideon led them through was full of arms and armor. Hakuba and James both enjoyed looking at the thick broadswords and slender rapiers. But of course, Holmes was a consummate fencer.   
  


The second room was of the oldest antiquities. Before the time of Rome, the beginnings of the Greek. "This is that Amlash bull Suzanne was telling you about," Gideon said pointing.  
  


Hakuba frowned. "Really? It looks somewhat different from the photos she showed us. Something about the curve of the horns. These are really much rounder, aren't they?"  
  


"Are you sure? Maybe you're thinking of it from during the restoration…before it was completely put together."  
  


He turned to Kaito,_ "Do you see a difference between this and the pictures she showed us?"_  
  


A guilty smile played over Kaito's face, _"Sorry, no. But then, I wasn't really paying attention."  
  
_

Well, if an international art thief with an eye for detail didn't see it… Hakuba shrugged, "We only saw them for a moment. I must be mistaken." He knew that people's perceptions and memories were often faulty…and usually the last thing that you wanted to trust in an investigation. But he still didn't like being unsure of his own observations.   
  


"Here you all are," said a bright voice behind them. Suzanne walked up, drying her hands on the front of her jeans. "I decided to take a break and see how the tour was coming."  
  


"We were just looking at that bull you did. Saguru here thinks it looks a bit different."  
  


Suzanne looked at the glass case and scowled, "I'm still not happy with the results," she tried to say lightly, but her voice was tight. "Those pictures I showed you…well, I thought they were right, but Ms. Calwell had me change a few things. You have a good eye."  
  


Hakuba was pleased.  
  


"Huh. I don't remember that," Gideon mused.  
  


She smiled wryly, "Of course you don't. You were busy with that Incan parrot bangle, I think. I'm surprised you remember anything that was going on around the same time."  
  


"You're right. That was hell. Aliens could have invaded and I wouldn't have batted an eye."  
  


Suzanne looked solemnly at the bull for another moment. "Well, enough of this, has Gideon shown you the Renaissance collection yet? We have a panting by Van Eyck."  
  


"Who's Van Eyck?" Oliver asked.   
  


"Exactly," Suzanne said with a grin, "Only the finest and most fabulous pieces for our little museum."  


Gideon suddenly jumped a little. "Ah, my cell phone just went off."  
  


"I didn't hear anything," Adam said.  
  


"I've got it set to vibration mode." He glanced at the display. "It's my wife, I've got to take this. But the reception inside is horrible. I'll just pop outside for a moment. Suzanne, do you mind showing them the rest of the exhibit without me? I'll catch up when I can."  
  


"Not a problem. Say hi for me, will you?" She waved him off. "Now boys, why don't I show you where all the sexy paintings live?"  
  


* * *  
  


The paintings were nice enough, Kaito thought, sexy or unsexy. He admitted that he really didn't have much appreciation for anything Picasso forwards. Honestly, as an art thief and not an artist, he expected the pieces he stole to be at least something he didn't think he could have accomplished in the fourth grade. But other than that, Kaito really liked art. And not just because he was stealing some select jeweled pieces of it.   
  


It was a nice change to be able to look around at a museum without any serious thoughts of stealing from it. Of course he noticed Some things, but not on the same level he did when he was casing a place.  
  


They'd just finished looking at a collection of stained glass when Gideon and Diane rejoined them. "Look who I found!" Gideon said.  
  


"Oh I'm so glad you were able to look around while I was with Ms. Calwell," Diane said. "I'm sorry to have kept you."  
  


"It's no problem, Aunt Diane. Is everything all right?"  
  


"Oh fine, fine."  
  


Gideon sighed, "Just a weekly reaming. Remember this for when you are grown up. Not all employers are nice. Some make you want to kill them on a regular basis."  
  


"We shouldn't talk like that," Suzanne said with a laugh. "Well! Shall we head across to the other wing?"  
  


Everyone agreed and so they milled back towards the main hall, Suzanne was in the lead. "Hey, I think there's something on the floor. What could it…" She broke off with a gasp and then started to scream.  
  


Kaito, Hakuba and the other boys ran forward. Lying on the marble floor, like a fallen rag doll lay Ms. Samantha Calwell. Her eyes were closed, but her limbs were all at awkward angles, and a small pool of blood puddle beneath her.  
  


"Quick! We have to call an ambulance!" Gideon flipped open his cell phone and was already heading for the door and better reception.   
  


"No…you have to call the police," Hakuba knelt in front of Ms. Calwell, two fingers pressed to the side of her neck. "I'm afraid it's too late. She's dead."  
  


"Dead!?"  
  


Hakuba's voice was even and detached. "Yes." He flicked open his pocket watch. "I can't be exact, but I'd place time of death somewhere between two thirty and three. In other words, sometime in the last half hour." The watch clicked shut.  
  


Diane's eyes filled with tears and Suzanne pressed her hands to her mouth. "What a horrible accident, what a horrible, horrible accident."  
  


"She must have fallen over the railing," Adam said looking up at the second floor.  
  


The teen detective frowned, his eyes on Ms. Calwell's still form. Then he looked up and his eyes were sharp. Kaito recognized that look.  
  


"I don't believe it was an accident, Ms. O'Brian. I believe it was murder."  
  
  
  


To be continued…  
  


Author's Notes:  


1. I used to work in an antique gallery that did it's own in house restorations. I loved talking to our Restorer. I learned so many interesting things. All the ethical stuff is real, but I have no idea how this particular museum handles it's pieces. For the sake of the story, I've given them the same set of ethics that we used at the gallery. Where yes, there was an amphora, a lacquer box and an amlash bull. (If you have lots of money please buy antiques from the wonderful people at haiggalleries.com.)  


2. Four thousand pounds are roughly six thousand US dollars, just in case you were wondering how much an item like that started at. The ending bid would likely be more in the ten thousand dollar range.  


3. I hope I've set up an interesting mystery. The major clues are all in place, though a few incidental things will show up in the next chapter. Please be gentle with me, this is the first murder mystery I've tried to write since the 5th grade.   


4. So far reviews have been a bit mixed, and I want to say thank you for not saying "Oh I love it!" and cushioning my feelings, I'd much rather know how people really feel. For those of you who are anti shonen ai, I ask you not to give up on the fic. I'm hoping to do something delicate and tasteful, and this really is an action adventure story, so I hope you can appreciate it on that level. As for mistakes…sorry, totally my fault. Likely to keep cropping up.   


5. Thanks very much for reading!!  



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